Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pretrial Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pretrial services reports caseload growth, seeks screener position and highlights court attendance rates
Summary
Pretrial services told the Davis County budget committee it has grown roughly 36% year‑to‑date, projects supervised cases to rise to about 734 by year end, and requested staffing (a screener at booking) and operational items; staff cited court appearance and safety statistics to support expansion.
Pretrial services presented data to the Davis County Budget Committee on Oct. 3, reporting notable program growth and detailing outcomes staff said support further investment in staffing and tools to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention.
Johnny, presenting for pretrial, described the mission as reducing unnecessary pretrial detention in the county jail and summarized staffing: five case managers (two hired in July/August), one legal tech, and a vacant supervisor/coordinator role. He said the program currently supervises hundreds of cases and is expanding its caseload.
On outcomes, pretrial staff reported that 80.3% of defendants on supervision attend their court dates, 76.5% had no new charges while on pretrial supervision, and the program's safety rate was 94.5%. Commissioners asked for detail on the 23.5% of cases with subsequent charges; staff said those new charges are frequently nonviolent repeat offenses (shoplifting, drug use) and cited examples of people experiencing homelessness cycling through the system.
Staff presented caseload counts and projections: with a partial year of 2024 data they reported 1,270 referred cases in 2023 and 535 supervised cases that year; through Aug. 31, 2024 they reported 949 open referred cases with 489 active supervised cases. Pretrial said it has grown roughly 36% year over year and projected supervised cases could reach about 734 by the end of the year.
To manage growth and improve judicial decision-making at booking, pretrial requested an additional screening position to collect information at initial booking and suggested county‑assigned cell phones and shelving following an office move. Staff argued that pretrial supervision saves jail bed costs and preserves employment, housing and family ties, and provided illustrative cost comparisons for in‑custody housing versus community supervision.
The committee did not take a formal vote on staffing or equipment during the session; staff said they would provide numbers and documentation requested by commissioners for follow up.
